Sad Week in Tonga

I had planned to tell you a bit about the life-style in Tonga this week, but an unexpected event happened and so I will try to cover it instead.

About 2 weeks ago there was a group of 25 Graduate Nurses from BYU Idaho who arrived here in Tonga with their Directer and her husband, Gayle and Gary Lee. They come every 2 years with a group to do service and learn from the experiences of the Island. Bro Lee served his mission here as a young man and so they both LOVE the Tongan people and their Island. In additon to the great services that they render while here, they also site-see under the direction of Bro and Sis Lee and a local Tongan couple.

Last Thur. was one such day and they were all in a bus with a Tongan couple traveling to see some sites on the Island. Interestingly the Land Bridge ( Hufangalupe Cliff) was not on their list, but as they approached it, Sis Lee wanted to stop and show the girls this amazing site. The Tongan couple said, "no, not today, maybe another time." Now, I must insert here that the Tongan people seem to have a "reverence" about nature. They understand it's beauties and also know of its power and destruction at a moments change. They live with it everyday and so do not try to change it or control it, but have a respect for it and its power. When it is high-tide they do not approach the water, they patiently wait until it is down (small example of their respect for nature)

Anyway, they stopped the bus at her insistance and Sis Lee jumped off first and hurried the girls along. To tell what happened next is really hard, and I will not go into details - that I will do when we are home for those who are interested because there is really a beautiful side to this. Within minutes of leaving the bus, Sis Lee fell about 100 feet into a rocky pool of water which has been formed by the undercutting of the limestone cliff by the oceans water over the years, forming a Land Bridge which is about 50 feet wide. Her husband climbed and fell, sustaining injuries, down into the hole with 2-3 Tongan men and they tried to get to her body which was still visible in the pool, but were unable to reach her before the waves took her out to sea. They have not found her body yet, and are still looking.

Needless to say this has been a horrifying experience for Bro Lee and these students. They were at the temple that night and Pres. Shumway (the temple pres.) talked to them as well as the Mission Pres. - Pres. McMurry. They then did a session, which Dad and I officiated and baptisms. The next day they decided that they should not go home but stay and do all the projects that they had arranged to do, because that is what Sis Lee would want them to do. Bro Lee also felt that was the thing to do, so they did. He was pretty banged up by the waves hitting him into the cliff, but is recoverying quite well.

BYU Idaho wanted them to come home early, so they pushed all their projects into a shorter time and skipped the remaining site-seeing. We opened up the use of our Vonage phone to the girls so that they could call families, husbands, and make new arrangements for flights home from LA. So the last 4 days we have had all 25 girls here at least 2-3 times each as they made their arrangements and called their loved ones. It has been such a tender time with them and we got to know them as individuals. What a sweet group of young ladies, some married and with several children, kind of took over as the "mother" figure to the younger ones and it was such a sweet thing to experience with them. We did a lot of talking, crying and trying to understand.

The school sent the Directer of Nursing and her husband over to accompany them home. When she arrived she was amazed at how well the girls were doing. And they will tell you that the Island people gave them their love and physical help that has helped fill their immmediate need as well as their emotional needs.

Yesterday, the Stake Pres. arranged a Memorial for Sis Lee at the request of Bro Lee, and it was a beautiful tribute to her. Among other things, the message was that those who die living the gospel will not taste the bitterness of death but that it will be sweet unto them (D&C 42:46, this is part of the story that I will tell you at home.) They were also told by Pres. Nau (Tongan Stake Pre.) that as people return to the site, they will not find her there and they will not see her body, just like they did not find the Savior's body in the tomb when they returned there to see him, because she, like the Savior has gone on to her place with Heavenly Father.

Bro Lee said yesterday, as he spoke at the Memorial, "if I were to pick a place for my Sweetheart to leave this life from, I could not have chosen a better place than here in Tonga, because we both have a great love for these people and this Island."

Yes, the week has been saddened by this event. The students have experienced something that has changed who they are and how they feel about somethings. They told us that over and over. They said it was the "hardest thing they have ever gone through and it has made me a different person than I was when I came." We heard this from several of them. So, we know that we learn from our experiences, allow the growth to take place and then we will become more of the person that we are to be. May we all remember that when we have hard experiences to endure, there is something for us to learn from it; and how we endure it will determine how we are blessed by it or how far we fall.

We love you all, and know that the Lord is aware of each of us and our needs. He will be as close to us in our time of need as we choose for Him to be. Open the door daily through prayer and an open mind to His promptings.

Love to all of you, Dad and Mom / Grandpa and Grandma

PS We will post pictures of this site in a week or two.